Rules OK'd to limit room for inns at HemisFair

Elisa Chan attends her last meeting as a member of San Antonio City Council.

Photo By San Antonio Express-News

Elisa Chan receives a plaque from Mayor Julian Castro after her last meeting as a member of San Antonio City Council, on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013. She is resigning to run for Texas Senate District 25.

Photo By San Antonio Express-News

Councilman Diego Bernal, left, speaks to Elisa Chan, right, who is resigning from city council to run for the Texas Senate, as Mayor Julian Castro, second from left, and Councilman Carlton Soules listen on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013.

Photo By San Antonio Express-News

Former San Antonio mayor Howard Peak embraces Elisa Chan after she attended her last meeting as a member of San Antonio City Council. She is resigning to run for Texas Senate District 25. Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013.

The hotel industry wanted more time for negotiations, but the City Council pressed forward Thursday with redevelopment of HemisFair Park by approving restrictions on future hotel construction at the downtown site.

The covenants limit new construction to two small hotels or one mid-size hotel on land set aside for such developments.

“This was an important step to move forward with development of HemisFair Park,” Mayor Julián Castro said. “I'm absolutely convinced that HemisFair Park is going to look brilliant in years to come.”

The unanimous vote was the final one cast on a major issue by District 9 Councilwoman Elisa Chan, who resigned effective Friday.

She's seeking the 2014 GOP nomination in Texas Senate in District 25.

“I'll miss this place,” Chan said. After a long pause, she added, “But I will not miss some of the things.”

Chan, praised by colleagues for her conservative approach and her work on economic development issues, endured harsh criticism earlier this year when her secretly recorded, anti-gay comments were disclosed.

The city will begin accepting applications Monday from those hoping to fill the remainder of her term though May. The council plans to select a replacement Nov. 7.

With Chan's support, the council moved ahead with a framework for allowing hotel development at HemisFair. Castro said there already was adequate debate on the restrictions, although a hotel industry representative sought more time to shape the constraints.

The newly approved convenants restrict all projects to a combined maximum of 400,000 square feet of floor space, with no single hotel being larger than 200,000 square feet.

Two boutique hotels, about the size of Hotel Havana, would be allowed, or one the size of the Hotel Valencia, which is nearly 154,000 square feet.

For comparison, the Hilton Palacio del Rio is more than 400,000 square feet.

The restrictions were the product of more than a year of discussion, including legislative wrangling.

Redevelopment of HemisFair Park has a goal of keeping park features while allowing some hotel, mixed use and residential space.

This year, lawmakers approved a bill by state Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, allowing the city to set aside 18 acres for development with restrictive covenants.

“When you attach these restrictions to property, they are permanent,” City Attorney Michael Bernard said. “Those restrictions will be very, very difficult to modify in the future,” he said.

The San Antonio Conservation Society agreed this week to be an enforcement agent of the deed restrictions, Bernard added. He urged the council to complete several required transactions by the end of the year to comply with the legislation.

Villarreal said the council's “balanced” approach “is an excellent solution for a very difficult problem.”

He said negotiations that gathered steam a year ago brought out concerns that the Legislature might “remove the people's ability to vote on this issue,” which involves repurposing some dedicated park land.

Citizens “recognized that this urban space was terribly underutilized,” and were eager to see it redeveloped, Villarreal said.

Even so, San Antonio Hotel & Lodging Association executive director John Clamp, a former councilman, pleaded for more dialogue.

“We, as an association, want HemisFair Park to be a successful venture, something that the locals can be proud of, that visitors can be proud of,” Clamp said.

However, hoteliers who supported Villarreal's legislation felt left out of the final talks on restrictions, he said.

“That's not what we signed up for in Austin. We thought we were going to be included in the discussions,” Clamp said. “These hoteliers want to do what's right for San Antonio,” he said.

“This is what compromise looks like,” countered Councilman Diego Bernal, whose district includes the park. “We arrived at the place where everyone's vision can be accomplished,” he said.

As the council marked Chan's exit Thursday, it also made note of a new arrival. Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales gave birth to her first child. The boy, Ian Barton, was the first child to be born to a sitting council member — “the first council baby,” as Chan put it.